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Updates: Added recipes 27 Mar 2015
Updates: Added recipes 27 Mar 2015
Nell RICHARDSON, about age 16 Other relatives have told me that I, of all her 21 grandchildren, look the most like my maternal grandmother Eleanor Louise (RICHARDSON) ANDREW. While this is debatable, I certainly share her love of family history and have inherited her nature of being “particular”. Gotta love her choice of words on this! We both believe that doing things thoroughly and correctly is very important; some would call this being a “perfectionist”, and we were both certainly "detail focused”. While we don’t consider this a criticism, the down side is that we take a long time to complete things, and are sometimes late on delivery. Our similarity was made clear to me when I taped an interview with my grandmother back in 1987, and this delightful story emerged ….
“When I was 16 I wanted to train for a nurse but Mother wouldn’t let me so there was nothing else to do but learn dress making. My sister [Lulu] was a milliner. But if I had stood out, mother would have given out, I guess, but you didn’t disobey your parents. And I hated dressmaking, but I was [laugh] too particular, and when I finished the year’s dress making, I had all the finishing touches to do because [laugh] I was too particular! And she always took me in to try the brides’ dresses on, and one day she took me in 4 times. And I said “Miss Higgins, why do you always take me instead of my cousin?” And she said, “Well, you have muscles here in front of your shoulders.” I used to do physical culture, you see. And do all the exercises. So she said 'You will find out when you start dress making.' And I did.”
“When I was 16 I wanted to train for a nurse but Mother wouldn’t let me so there was nothing else to do but learn dress making. My sister [Lulu] was a milliner. But if I had stood out, mother would have given out, I guess, but you didn’t disobey your parents. And I hated dressmaking, but I was [laugh] too particular, and when I finished the year’s dress making, I had all the finishing touches to do because [laugh] I was too particular! And she always took me in to try the brides’ dresses on, and one day she took me in 4 times. And I said “Miss Higgins, why do you always take me instead of my cousin?” And she said, “Well, you have muscles here in front of your shoulders.” I used to do physical culture, you see. And do all the exercises. So she said 'You will find out when you start dress making.' And I did.”
RICHARDSON family home, St Eleanors PEI, 1946 My darling Granny went by the name of Nell and was the youngest daughter of Sydney RICHARDSON (1862-1951) and Isabella Harriet “Ella” COMPTON. Nell was born on the Ides of March in 1894 in Sherbrooke, a small community in Lot 17, Prince County, PEI and was baptized later that year in St Johns Anglican Church in nearby St Eleanors. She had 3 older siblings, and the little brother who was born after her sadly died as an infant when Nell was almost three. Her father was the first cheese maker in the area and her mother a nurse and midwife, who was probably just trying to protect Nell from the more gruesome realities of her calling when she forbade Nell to become a nurse. Yet Nell ended up taking care of her ailing mother and aging father in later years, and I think she was called on to help others in a nursing capacity as well, in spite of having no formal training. As to her education in dressmaking, that likely took place in Charlottetown, as Nell mentioned she had spent a winter there at some point before her marriage. And as to her earlier education, she must have been a good student, because according to one family story, she received an award one year of a signed copy of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s “Ann of Green Gables”. Unfortunately it has long since disappeared.
Unlike me, Granny preferred the outdoors over working inside, and she liked working with animals. She was also a skilled horse woman like her mother. Her Richardson grandfather had been a games keeper in Norfolk England, and so her father had been raised to manage the land and animals and was a skilled hunter. Nell said that her father came to rely on her help to run their farm. I also found mention of Nell and her father in some old newspapers, winning prizes at the fall fairs for their chickens and produce. Of course there was always lots of hard work to see to, both inside and out. In later years my Aunt Harriet once told me that she would often be put on house duty so that her mother Nell could see to the outside work. Apparently it was a win-win situation for them both!
Unlike me, Granny preferred the outdoors over working inside, and she liked working with animals. She was also a skilled horse woman like her mother. Her Richardson grandfather had been a games keeper in Norfolk England, and so her father had been raised to manage the land and animals and was a skilled hunter. Nell said that her father came to rely on her help to run their farm. I also found mention of Nell and her father in some old newspapers, winning prizes at the fall fairs for their chickens and produce. Of course there was always lots of hard work to see to, both inside and out. In later years my Aunt Harriet once told me that she would often be put on house duty so that her mother Nell could see to the outside work. Apparently it was a win-win situation for them both!
Nell and her father took turns winning first prize for their chickens at the Fall fairs in Summerside:
- 1911 S’side Exhibition Races and Prize List, published in the Charlottetown Guardian, 25 Sep 1911, pg 3, col 2 “Poultry-Class VII.
Orphington Buff Cock and Hen - 1, Sydney Richardson, St. Eleanor’s; 2, John Jenneth McKenzie, Summerside. …
Pair Orphington buff Chickens - 1, Miss E. L Richardson, St. Eleanor’s; 2, Sydney Richardson, St. Eleanor’s.” - 1912 Summerside Exhibition prizes, published in the Charlottetown Guardian, 21 Sep 1912, pg 9, col 5 “Poultry. Class VII.
Orpington Buff Cock and Hen - 1, Sydney Richardson, St. Eleanors.
Pair Orphington Buff Chickens - 1, Sydney Richardson, St. Eleanors; 2, Miss E.L. Richardson, St. Eleanors”
Nell & Harry picnic with their 3 daughters, 1943, Cavendish Beach Nell and her growing family worked hard to preserve as much food as possible for the long hard winter months. In addition to all the canning and preserving, my Uncle Alan once told me of Granny’s big crock pot that stood in the corner and contained her ample supply of sauerkraut made from home grown cabbages - quite the staple during the winter. Molasses was used a lot as a sweetener, and Harry loved to drizzle it over his morning porridge. I have recipes for Granny’s gingersnaps and oatmeal cookies, both of which used molasses as an ingredient. Nell of course baked her own bread as well, which in later years contained very little salt as per doctors orders. Sometimes she would use potato water in the bread for added starch and moistness. Out of necessity she learned to be thrifty and waste nothing.
Food was also the focal point for all social and family gatherings, whether it be at picnics, church bazaars and teas, community events, entertaining visitors or celebrating birthdays and holidays. As one of my cousins so ably said when writing about Granny and her daughters: "food was a very important element of get-togethers, and provided the glue that kept the family in touch with one another”. My mother and her sisters were taught to make cakes and cookies and, as my Aunt Harriet would say, “endless jelly rolls”. It became their way of life to prepare plenty of food and generously share it.
Food was also the focal point for all social and family gatherings, whether it be at picnics, church bazaars and teas, community events, entertaining visitors or celebrating birthdays and holidays. As one of my cousins so ably said when writing about Granny and her daughters: "food was a very important element of get-togethers, and provided the glue that kept the family in touch with one another”. My mother and her sisters were taught to make cakes and cookies and, as my Aunt Harriet would say, “endless jelly rolls”. It became their way of life to prepare plenty of food and generously share it.
Nell & Harry ANDREW and their 7 children, 1930s, N St Eleanors PEI I have written more in a previous post about Nell's husband Harry Charles ANDREW, her engagement ring, their marriage in 1915 in St Eleanors, and their life together. The Richardsons had known the Andrews since Nell’s father Sydney first came to PEI to start a cheese factory in about 1883. And because Sydney married Ella Compton, a first cousin of Harry Andrew’s mother, they were also related. The two families also socialized, as Nell’s older brother Melbourne remembered “winter parties, where the young people learned to dance, waltz and two step. [He had] fond memories of parties at the Andrew family, the patience of the girls, trying to get us to keep in step to the music.”
Nell and Harry married during the time of the first world war, when Harry was needed on the home front for agricultural purposes - he continued to grow food on his father's farm in North St Eleanors, PEI. Nell and Harry soon started a family and my mother Mabel, born in 1918, was the second of their seven children.
The world was a changed place after the first war, and in the 1920s people on PEI had to adapt to the downward trend of its peace-time economy. In part this was caused by their dwindling supply and lower market prices for its natural resources, higher freight costs, and increased tariffs and competition. In 1921, one third of the island’s population was engaged in agriculture. Federal government subsidies helped for a while, but life only got more difficult during the depression years of the 1930s. The higher unemployment caused many to leave the island.
Nell and Harry also had plans to move off the island after this first Great War, perhaps to join Nell’s older brother Mel in the west. However, when Harry’s father became ill (he later died in 1920), the family convinced them to stay and take over the running of the family farm. It was very hard work, often with very little monetary reward. I remember hearing stories about the backbreaking work to grow crops of potatoes (PEI spuds!), turnips and other produce only to find that the only price they could get for them wouldn’t even meet their costs, so were not worth the labour to harvest. Times must have been very lean.
Nell and Harry married during the time of the first world war, when Harry was needed on the home front for agricultural purposes - he continued to grow food on his father's farm in North St Eleanors, PEI. Nell and Harry soon started a family and my mother Mabel, born in 1918, was the second of their seven children.
The world was a changed place after the first war, and in the 1920s people on PEI had to adapt to the downward trend of its peace-time economy. In part this was caused by their dwindling supply and lower market prices for its natural resources, higher freight costs, and increased tariffs and competition. In 1921, one third of the island’s population was engaged in agriculture. Federal government subsidies helped for a while, but life only got more difficult during the depression years of the 1930s. The higher unemployment caused many to leave the island.
Nell and Harry also had plans to move off the island after this first Great War, perhaps to join Nell’s older brother Mel in the west. However, when Harry’s father became ill (he later died in 1920), the family convinced them to stay and take over the running of the family farm. It was very hard work, often with very little monetary reward. I remember hearing stories about the backbreaking work to grow crops of potatoes (PEI spuds!), turnips and other produce only to find that the only price they could get for them wouldn’t even meet their costs, so were not worth the labour to harvest. Times must have been very lean.
Harry & Nell Andrew outside their home at 5784 Garden St, Duncan BC, 1959 This was the start of Nell’s family’s migration, and most would end up settling on Vancouver Island on Canada’s Pacific coast. Nell had a hard choice to make, and she decided to stay on PEI to nurse her mother and father. How hard it must have been to watch her husband and children leave PEI, a few at a time. And by 1947 when my mother made the cross-Canada journey alone, Nell only had her daughter Harriet CLARK, now married and with children, remaining to provide her support.
All this took its toll on Nell’s health and she developed heart problems and high blood pressure. It was probably in 1950 when the doctor practically ordered her to go and join her husband and the majority of her children in Duncan BC. It still must have been very difficult for her to say goodbye to both her parents and leave them behind in the care of other relatives (they died in PEI in 1951).
So Nell made the journey west, and the reunion with her family in Duncan must surely have been a joyous occasion. Also welcoming her were her sister-in-law Mabel and her husband Fred MAY, who had moved out with Harry. When daughter Harriet and family joined them in 1953, only George (in Ontario) and Alan (probably in Manitoba in the Air Force) remained "away". Her brother Melbourne RICHARDSON was now much closer in Seattle. After Mel's wife died in 1960, Nell even played matchmaker (successfully), introducing him to my grade 1 teacher on one of his visits. He married Kay in 1963.
Nell resided in the Duncan BC area for the rest of her life, first in a house on Herd Road which she really liked, particularly the large veranda. I don’t think the family was there very long, needing to move closer into town to be closer to work. Their next house was at 5784 Garden Street in Duncan where they remained for many years. It backed onto a lane along side the lumberyard and near the train tracks. It was a very short walk into town, and the dairy was at the end of the street.
All this took its toll on Nell’s health and she developed heart problems and high blood pressure. It was probably in 1950 when the doctor practically ordered her to go and join her husband and the majority of her children in Duncan BC. It still must have been very difficult for her to say goodbye to both her parents and leave them behind in the care of other relatives (they died in PEI in 1951).
So Nell made the journey west, and the reunion with her family in Duncan must surely have been a joyous occasion. Also welcoming her were her sister-in-law Mabel and her husband Fred MAY, who had moved out with Harry. When daughter Harriet and family joined them in 1953, only George (in Ontario) and Alan (probably in Manitoba in the Air Force) remained "away". Her brother Melbourne RICHARDSON was now much closer in Seattle. After Mel's wife died in 1960, Nell even played matchmaker (successfully), introducing him to my grade 1 teacher on one of his visits. He married Kay in 1963.
Nell resided in the Duncan BC area for the rest of her life, first in a house on Herd Road which she really liked, particularly the large veranda. I don’t think the family was there very long, needing to move closer into town to be closer to work. Their next house was at 5784 Garden Street in Duncan where they remained for many years. It backed onto a lane along side the lumberyard and near the train tracks. It was a very short walk into town, and the dairy was at the end of the street.
The years of the second world war brought Nell another set of challenges. Her mother had already suffered a serious stroke in about 1935 and Nell provided at least some of her nursing. After the war started, the government (seized) many of the farms in North Saint Eleanors to build an air base. Granny, who “negotiated” with the government men while Grandpa was confined to bed after an accident, probably felt there was no room for haggling, and got a very low price for the land. In 1940 Nell lost her only sister Lulu. They were likely quite close as I was told they could talk together for hours about family history. Then her brother George, a WWI veteran living in Seattle Washington, died in 1943. Her oldest brother Melbourne, also in Seattle, was the only sibling she had left, but he was so far away.
Nell’s three older sons enlisted in the Canadian forces, and Dean was critically wounded overseas. I can only try to imagine the extreme anxiety and stress that his parents Nell and Harry went through when they first got news and then had to wait for delayed news of his condition and latest circumstances. Fortunately, Dean returned to PEI once he was able to travel, but the doctor then advised him to move to a milder climate where he could better convalesce.
Nell’s three older sons enlisted in the Canadian forces, and Dean was critically wounded overseas. I can only try to imagine the extreme anxiety and stress that his parents Nell and Harry went through when they first got news and then had to wait for delayed news of his condition and latest circumstances. Fortunately, Dean returned to PEI once he was able to travel, but the doctor then advised him to move to a milder climate where he could better convalesce.
Nell never seemed idle. She was active for many years with St Johns Anglican Church, and with activities at the seniors centre. She helped nurse Harry's sister Mabel (and probably her husband Fred as well) when they became ill. She entertained visitors and helped out her family. My mother, sister and I lived with them for a few years in the 1950s. They grew a plentiful garden (I loved the raspberries) and of course she cooked and baked with long practice. Nell also enjoyed making hooked rugs. Not just small ones, but room-sized carpets that she designed herself and made out of strips of rags. Harry was enlisted to cut strips and was probably the one who made her a large room-sized hooking frame. As a child I can remember her very colourful rug in their front room, patterned in squares with inner shapes traced from dinner plates and with various flowers at the centre of each square. And as luck would have it, each square was slightly bigger than a child's foot, making it the perfect accessory for indoor hopscotch! This rug got a lot of mileage and lasted a lot of years before becoming threadbare. I wish I had a picture of Granny's "rug of many colours".
Later in life and after Harry entered extended care, Nell moved in with her daughter Harriet, just 2 doors down on Garden Street. Then she lived for several years at the Cowichan Lodge on Tzouhalem Road where, in the 1980s, we would visit her. In 1987 I recorded one of our conversations on cassette tape (since digitized by my son) - how I wish I had done this more often and with greater skills as an interviewer. But how wonderful it is to hear her voice again. Granny lived to be 97 years young, dying on 22 Feb 1992 in Duncan BC. Miss you and love you, Granny!
"52 Ancestors" is a reference to the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge I am participating in.
Reference the No Story Too Small blog by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow for more details.
It is giving me the much needed incentive to write and publish my family stories.
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